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NEW YORK CITY — “It’s just as safe as the sun.”
People on the streets in New York City were invited for a free tan on a cold day in November. The would-be tanners were shocked when they walked in on their own funeral instead, complete with a casket, mourners and an organist.
The reactions were captured for an ad sponsored by Mollie’s Fund, a melanoma awareness foundation that seeks to save lives by educating people about melanoma prevention and skin cancer detection. Mollie Biggane was a sophomore in college when she died of melanoma, and her family started the foundation in her memory.
The participants called the set-up "sad," "shocking" and "frightening." That's exactly the reaction Mollie’s mom, Maggie Biggane, was hoping for.
"Statistics just aren't working to alert tanning bed users of the direct effects of tanning beds," Maggie Biggane told KSL.com in an email. "Tanning beds can and do kill. Area 23, a NYC healthcare communications agency, developed this campaign because they wanted to create something untraditional and out-of-the box. It is shocking, but the intent is to shock a tanning bed user to re-consider exposing themselves to this known carcinogen."
Freekillertan.com lets users send "one free killer tan" to their friends via email and includes the video. The site also gives startling statistics about cancer and tanning beds:
- Just one tanning session increases the risk of melanoma by 20 percent
- One person dies from melanoma every 57 minutes in the U.S.
- Tanning beds have the same cancer rating as plutonium, cigarettes and asbestos
- Using tanning beds before the age of 35 increases the risk of melanoma
“We know we can protect ourselves by wearing sunscreen and scheduling outdoor activities in the morning or late afternoon,” Lynne Nilson, director of the Utah Department of Health Cancer Control Program, told KSL Radio in July.
"As a state, however, we need to not only encourage these behaviors, but also make them easier by providing shade structures in public outdoor spaces, limiting the use of indoor tanning devices, and where possible, making sunscreen available and accessible at worksites and outdoor venues.”
Over 30 million people in the United States use tanning beds every year, and two-thirds of those are teens. Despite having a high cancer rating, only 11 states have banned minors from using tanning beds. Brazil, New South Wales and Australia are the only countries that have banned tanning beds entirely, according to skincancer.org.
One of the women who stopped in for her "free killer tan" said it was her first time going tanning: "And after this, never again," she said. While Maggie Biggane acknowledges the ad is dramatic, she doens't think it was "mean."
"It doesn't seem 'mean' to me if the intent is to educate and help prevent melanoma. We are thrilled with this initiative," Biggane told KSL.com in an email. "Our target audience is 18 to 24-year-olds and the response has been overwhelmingly supportive. If we can change tanning bed behaviors, and I think we can, we have made an impact."
What do you think of this new ad? Do you think the United States should ban tanning beds? Let us know in the comments.
